2011 NCAA Tournament Picks:
Sweet 16 Redo | East | West | Southwest | Southeast | Final Four | Winning Tips | 2011 NCAA Tournament Home
2011 NCAA Tournament Bracket Breakdowns:
West | East | Southwest | Southeast | Final Four | Schedule
2011 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Breakdowns:
West | Southeast |
2011 NCAA Tournament Preview:
ACC | Atlantic 10 | Big 12 | Big East | Big Ten | Mid-Majors | Mountain West | Pac 10 | SEC
These are notes I took while studying each NCAA Tournament team. Most of this is unedited. I’ll have a more coherent breakdown in my NCAA Tournament picks.
Colorado (21-13)
EXPERIENCE: Top six scorers: So, Sr, Sr, Sr, Jr, Fr
WHY TO LOVE: Elite offense (11th).
Balanced scoring: Four players average 11.5 ppg or more.
WHY TO HATE: Awful defense (137th).
3-9 road record. Quality road wins: Kansas State.
Colorado head coach Jeff Bzdelik has never won an NCAA Tournament game (0-1).
Kansas (32-2)
EXPERIENCE: Top six scorers: Jr, Jr, Fr, Sr, Jr, So
WHY TO LOVE: Elite offense (4th).
Elite defense (12th).
Four of the top five scorers are upperclassmen.
9-1 road record. Quality road wins: Missouri, Colorado, Michigan.
Bill Self has reached the Elite Eight three times since 2004.
Seven conference wins of 15+ points.
Fulfills all six requisites in the Portrait of a Champion (returning head coach, scored 76 ppg, 10+ margin of victory, in the tournament last year, seeded 1-5, won at least one conference tournament game).
WHY TO HATE:
Kansas State (22-10)
EXPERIENCE: Top six scorers: Sr, So, Sr, Jr, Fr, So
WHY TO LOVE: Good defense (27th).
5-5 road record. Quality road wins: Texas.
Head coach Frank Martin is 4-2 in the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats went to the Elite Eight last year.
WHY TO HATE: Average offense (50th).
Kansas State has no real point guard, so the team tends to turn the ball over a lot.
Lost opening conference tournament game. No team that lost its opening conference-tournament game has won the national championship since 1985.
Missouri (23-10)
EXPERIENCE: Top six scorers: Jr, Jr, Jr, So, Jr, Sr
WHY TO LOVE: Good offense (28th).
Balanced scoring: Five players average in double figures.
Five of Missouri’s top six scorers are upperclassmen.
In five NCAA Tournament appearances, head coach Mike Anderson has lost in the first round only once. His record is 7-5 despite coaching UAB in three NCAA Tournament trips.
WHY TO HATE: Bad defense (53rd).
The Tigers’ game plan abuses weaker point guards, but teams with a very good floor-general won’t succumb to all the pressure.
Both of Missouri’s point guards are underclassman (So, Fr).
The Tigers have lost three of four heading into the NCAA Tournament.
2-7 road record. Quality road wins: None.
Texas (27-7)
EXPERIENCE: Top six scorers: So, Fr, Sr, Fr, So, Sr
WHY TO LOVE: Elite defense (1st).
Great offense (19th).
Balanced scoring: Four players average 10.5 ppg or more.
8-3 road record. Quality road wins: Baylor, Texas A&M, Kansas, Michigan State, North Carolina.
Nine conference wins of 15+ ppg (tied for most in college basketball).
WHY TO HATE: It seems like Texas underachieves in the NCAA Tournament every year. I’m aware they’ve been to the Elite Eight and Final Four under Rick Barnes, but they continuously disappoint in March.
The Longhorns have a freshman point guard (Cory Joseph).
Inexperience: Four of the top six scorers are underclassmen.
NCAA Champions average 76 ppg. Texas averages 74.9 ppg.
Texas A&M (24-8)
EXPERIENCE: Top six scorers: So, Jr, Sr, Sr, Fr, So
WHY TO LOVE: Above average defense (40th).
5-4 road record. Quality road wins: Colorado.
Mark Turgeon is an excellent NCAA Tournament head coach. Despite never leading a team into the Big Dance with a record better than 26-9, he’s never lost in the first round. He even took Wichita State to the Sweet 16 in 2006.
WHY TO HATE: Mediocre offense (62nd).
2011 NCAA Tournament Picks:
Sweet 16 Redo | East | West | Southwest | Southeast | Final Four | Winning Tips | 2011 NCAA Tournament Home
2011 NCAA Tournament Bracket Breakdowns:
West | East | Southwest | Southeast | Final Four | Schedule
2011 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Breakdowns:
West | Southeast |
2011 NCAA Tournament Preview:
ACC | Atlantic 10 | Big 12 | Big East | Big Ten | Mid-Majors | Mountain West | Pac 10 | SEC
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